Monday, October 3, 2011

WDW Wine and Dine Relay 2011- Part 1

So, about 3 months ago Dave and I were running and he said that we should sign up for the Wine and Dine Half Marathon. When I went to sign up the race was full :( and I was very upset (because I ran it last year and LOVED IT!!!!). So we signed up for RnR Savannah ( I have "met" some great people through this race) so I just figured it was a blessing in disguise.My birthday was the 28th and on Sunday my friend Jessica texted me and said that her partner for the relay had backed out on her and would I be able to run with her. Backstory is that Dave and I were going to go away for my birthday to West Palm Beach and I didn't think we could change the hotel so I said sadly I could not :(Well on Tuesday, we decided that instead of a trip to WPB, we would make a trip to my happy place- WALT DISNEY WORLD!!!! I got a great annual passholder rate to the Animal Kingdom Lodge and I was happy to go but sad to be going on a runDisney weekend and not run. I talked with Dave and he gave me the green light to call Jessica and see if she still needed a partner and she did :) So I became Runner #1 of Team J Squared!!!

We arrived at Animal Kingdom Lodge Friday morning and tried to check it- hence no rooms were ready so we decided to head over to HEAVEN (the Wine and Dine expo!!!) I was able to pick up a really cute Tshirt, CEP hot pink socks, a green Running Skirt (which I LOVE!) and some other odds and ends that only runners can appreciate. We then headed back to the hotel to see whether or not the room was ready and seriously their computers were down for 3 hours and they couldn't let us know one was or another if our room was ready. So, we headed down to the pool and chillaxed until their computers came back up.

We had reservations to eat of the California Grill on the top of the Contemporary and it DID NOT disappoint. I had the zucchini blossoms as an appetizer and then the Snapper for dinner BUT the best thing there is the S'mores cake with Peanut Butter gelato. I was stuffed but it was SOOOOO worth it. Then we went out on the observation deck to watch the Halloween fireworks (my favorite of all time.)

On Saturday morning, we got up and went to Animal Kingdom and even though we go to Disney a lot, we don't often go without kids and our kids don't always meet height requirements for all of us to be able to ride. Dave really wanted for me to go on every ride that I never can go on. I went on Expedition Everest (twice), Primeval Whirl, and Dinosaur. I really enjoyed the kid free time. Then we went back to Heaven (the expo so I could meet up with Jessica and get my race number). We then went to one of the best kept secrets at Downtown Disney- Raglan Road Pub.

This little jewel is located right next to T-rex and the restaurant is beautiful inside. I had such a hard time deciding what to eat but I ended up ordering a burger and chips (almost as good as the ones from Epcot in England but not quite). Then we got their Bread Pudding dessert and it was SOOOOOO good!!!! Dave said that he would go back and just eat that and coming from Dave that is a major compliment.

We went back to the hotel and took a nap (i am old and do not EVER stay up late so I needed this to make it through the night-ha!!) We went down to the pool and I soaked my legs for a while and then it was time to eat a snack (chicken flatbread) and head over to All Star Sports to meet up with my partner, Jessica, and head over to the race.